Over 21 million join Arbaeen pilgrimage, show support for Gaza

Over 21 million Shiite Muslims participated in the Arbaeen pilgrimage in Iraq, culminating on Sunday with attendees showing solidarity for Gaza. Arbaeen, meaning forty in Arabic, commemorates the 40th day of mourning for Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson and a key figure in Shiite Islam.

This event is one of the largest religious gatherings globally and a significant occasion for Shiites, predominantly in Iraq and Iran. Karbala, home to the mausoleums of Hussein and his brother Abbas, becomes the focal point for Shiites during this period. Pilgrims openly express their grief, crying and lamenting Hussein’s death, who was martyred in 680 in a battle with the Umayyad caliph Yazid.

This year, pilgrims prominently displayed Palestinian flags, as observed by AFP photographers, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The institution managing the Abbas mausoleum reported the total number of Arbaeen pilgrims reached 21,480,525.

Official figures from Tehran noted approximately 3.5 million of these were Iranian pilgrims. Mohammed al-Tamimi, a 32-year-old pilgrim, conveyed to AFPTV that the Palestinian flags among the pilgrims symbolised support for Palestinians and opposition to Zionist actions in Gaza.

The Arbaeen celebrations, usually held under stringent security, attracted around 22 million pilgrims last year, with Iran contributing the majority of foreign visitors, numbering four million. The conflict in Gaza was ignited by Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, causing the deaths of 1,199 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel’s subsequent military actions have resulted in at least 40,405 deaths in Gaza, as reported by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN rights office states that the majority of the deceased are women and children.